"Well, while we wait and prepare we might as well have something good to eat." Roland says, summoning a Heroes' Feast for his compatriots.
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"Ahh. Well, welcome to the desert kingdom, then. Are other alliances happeneing as well?" “Yes, when I left Jiminy was in talks with an Island representative, I’m sure this we all be wrapped up shortly, it’s in good hands.”
“I’m sorry, I haven’t seen her.” Roland admits. “I’m sure she is alright though, she doesn’t seem the type to be seriously harmed by anything short of an exploding star.” Roland says, smiling encouragingly.
Roland then addresses the Desert players. “Hey, I’m on the Forest Kingdom team. Jiminy is working to get all the kingdoms to unite instead of fighting for whatever may come next in this test, so he sent me here to see if we could join forces.”
Roland is silent for a moment then straightens his back and rolls his shoulders as if divesting himself of an immensely heavy burden. He turns to Fieri and smiles. “Maybe one day we can both be with the person we miss…here is hoping.”
“My perspective…” Roland begins. “Here is how it happened…” “My child’s mother is a powerful sorceress with whom I had a brief, passionate, and rather turbulent romantic affair with. Unknown to me until awhile after we broke it off we had conceived a child together. Her Destined bloodline and my potent angelic blood created a boy who is of great interest to many Powers in the multiverse whom would seek to control him. His mother came to me after he was born to tell me she was taking him into hiding to raise him, but that, while she could conceal herself and our child I must avoid them at all costs because of how easily traceable my energies are to someone who knows how to look and if I came to them on a regular basis I would in all likelihood lead any pursuers right to them, even if I concealed myself in powerful anti-divination spells.” Roland takes a deep breath then lets it out slowly. “I got to hold my son exactly one time, I don’t know if I believed in love at first sight before that but I do now. He was so perfect, so fragile and yet so strong. He was…my son.” “His mother made me swear to never seek them out, and I agreed, as hard to choke out the words as it was. Once a year she sends me a small sign to show me that they are alive and safe and when I see that sign…” Roland is utterly silent and still for a long moment. “Sometimes I wonder why it was necessary for her to come to me. We were done with each other and I didn’t know about the pregnancy. She could have vanished off the face of the earth with my son and I would have never been the wiser. But instead she came to me, and let me hold him, if just that once….I love her for that.” A single, crystal clear tear slowly makes its way down Roland’s left cheek. “And I think I hate her a little bit for it too.”
Roland gives Fieri a faint smile. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but you are the best friend I have on this world. Go for it, I’m happy to help if I can.”
“Yes…my childhood was interesting to say the least…but…” “I have a son.” He confesses suddenly, apropos of nothing. “A little boy. Circumstance has taken him from me.” Roland turns his head and looks off into the distance, his eyes blind to the sights of the physical world as the potent images of nostalgic memory fill his thoughts. “He is doing well, but I can’t see him…and…sometimes that feels like more than I can bear.” Roland looks back to Fieri, his normally cheerful and bright eyes seeming as deep wells of anguish at that moment. “Of all the roles I have almost taken on as an adventurer and planewalker ‘Dad’ is the one I wish I hadn’t missed out on.”
“Children are such a blessing.” Roland replies, nodding and grinning widely. “I think you’ll find that every sacrifice you make for them and every discomfort you suffer for their sake is worth it tens times over so that they can grow up big and strong. Safe, in the knowledge that they are loved.” A strange pained look momentarily crosses the idle perfection of Roland’s face, his forehead creases and he gains a tightness around his eyes. A deep sadness lingers that starts to dissipate only slowly.
Upon hearing Fieri’s news Roland’s eyebrows shoot up in pleased surprise. “That’s great, congratulations!” He declares. “Are you excited?”
"I don't have any inherent fire abilities but I can try this." Roland continues.
"Did that help at all?" He asks.
Roland gives Fieri a wide, relieved smile. “It’s all good, I’m just glad you are alright. How are you doing? Is there anything I can do for you?” He inquires.
Roland rushes to Fieri’s side and kneels next to her. “Are you alright?” He exclaims, taking her hand gently in his and checking her pulse by placing his other hand on her wrist. He looks back at Ignace. “You say she needs fire?” He asks, concern written on his face. Turning back to Fieri he does what he can in the interim by casting a Heal spell-like ability followed by a Greater Restoration.
"Of Course!" Roland cheerfully replies and follows Krays.
Roland gives Jiminy two thumbs up and then teleports to the Desert. "Hello out there!" He calls across the sands. "I come in peace, anyone here?"
Roland nods in agreement than teleports after Jiminy when he leaves to watch his back with the new arrival.
"Is there any specific approach would you like me to take Jiminy? The end goal is to get us to all be allied and my natural approach would be a 'come on guys, we are all friends, let's work together!' attitude but if that doesn't work for you I can try something else." Roland inquires.
“Whatever you need, boss.” Roland replies to Jiminy with a grin. “Where would you like me to go first?”
Having been following quietly behind Jiminy, Roland scratches his chin as he considers the idea of alliances. “If we can ally with other nations, is there any particular reason we can’t ally all four and end this peacefully?” He wonders aloud. “Perhaps I’m just being silly, but isn’t what the headmaster wants is for us to learn to work together? Imagine if we go the peaceful route, as one united nation we students will have all four territories and will not have lost a single warrior, sounds like a great victory to me, and we would be at full strength for whatever theoretical challenge would await us after. When fighting a long war it is important to conserve strength not just to defeat the foe you can see, but also the one lurking beyond the horizon.”
"Oh man, you ain't kiddin. Succubi really enjoy their work..." Roland laughs out loud and enthusiastically nods his head in agreement.
"I don't think we'll have any problems. You already hang out with a quasit, right?" “Hehe, that and half of my friends and a girlfriend or three have been denizens of the lower planes.” Roland acknowledges with a wink.
"It's a .75, I guess. I tooled it to be 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Yeah, it hurts. Chances are if you've made me angry enough to un-holster my pistol, the time for words is probably past. But, I s'pose since open warfare in a school is frowned upon, I can agree to not pick fights for no reason." "Well then, I will also endeavor to never upset you." Roland promises with a grin.
Roland leans in close to look at it. “Damn, that really is a big gun, what caliber is it? I would hate to be on the receiving end of that, let’s agree never to get in a fight, shall we? If you are ever upset with me give me a chance to talk with you about it, or at least give me the opportunity to run away….”
“Nah man, that ain’t me.” Roland replies. “And I don’t really use weapons, not because I don’t know how, but more because I am more of a lover than a fighter. By the way, that is the biggest revolver I have ever seen, it looks master crafted too. Who made it? May I examine it? I’ve always had an interest in guns.”
“Cool man, sounds like a deal.” Roland agrees, accepting the items. “I foresee definitely having some shopping to do with you in the future.”
Skivven has potions on hand to mirror the drinker, make them invisible, or disguise them as another, and avoid magical detections. Skivven has one type of potion to summon swarms, spiders cheaply or more expensive wasps. Skivven likes that elixir, not taste bad going down, tickles on way up. Skivven could make scrolls and runes for dark grasping things, but Skivven need a few hours for those. “Very cool.” Roland responds. “May I purchase one potion each of invisibility, mirror, disguise and spider swarm? If I have enough money left over perhaps I could get a scroll to summon the dark graspers as well?”
“Hmmm.” Roland says. “Not sure exactly what I want. I am very interested in things that can produce illusions and also items that can summon creatures or conjure materials, do you have any items like that?”
“Really!” Roland says, rubbing his chin in interest. “I brought a thousand platinum with me when I joined the school and I still have it, what other goods and services do you offer?”
“Dammit!” Roland declares as he picks the spinach out. “My smile is always getting ruined, and also, I hate spinach, when was I eating it?” His eyes narrow as he tries to recall but despite having a nearly eidetic memory, he can’t. Finishing with his teeth he says. “Thanks Jiminy, you are right, it is prolly better to just be myself in the long run. It can kinda hurt when people just don’t seem to like you right off the bat before they know you but it is just that good old problem with preconceptions, I get it, all of us here have been on the receiving end of that, I’m sure, and we all also have to work to break it on our side as well.”
“Hmmm.” Roland says, tapping a finger against his lips. “Maybe I should learn some illusion magic and use it to make myself more presentable when introducing myself. Perhaps my being an angel is something that has to be gently told to folks instead of wearing it on my sleeve….or maybe what is happening is….” He turns to Phaezeriel and Jiminy and smiles widely at them. “Is there something stuck in my teeth?” He asks.
Roland looks at Casseus and the retreating Skivven and gives them a wide, genuine smile. “New teammates?” He asks.
Roland returns from an aerial scouting circuit and lands near Jiminy. “I haven’t seen any hostile movements yet, boss. I’m not sure if the action is happening elsewhere or everyone else is playing defense as well or what. Although, I am only one guy, and there is a lot of cover around that blocks aerial sight so we might not be all clear.”
::No problem.:: Roland replies. ::You seem to know what you are about and the faster we pull together the better this will go. We are all individually strong but how well we can organize ourselves will play a big role in how well we do:: He says as his eagle sharp eyes survey the terrain.
Roland nods in affirmation of his new leader then spreads his wings and takes to the air.
Knowing his warning against the potential enemy within would likely be ignored Roland just lets it go, despite how wary he knew one must be of that in a real war. If there was a traitor in their midst it would be a decent lesson for his teammates to learn now, as opposed to in a real conflict where doppelgangers and shadowmancers could assume the form of even trusted friends. “I vote for Jiminy myself.” He says, then: “I can fly quite quickly and I have a true seeing ability, let me join you in scouting Jiminy.”
Forest ::I don’t really care who ends up in charge but I do have some suggestions for how we should conduct this war:: Roland says, as the last of the soil falls from his fingers. He stands, rubbing his hands together to clean them of clinging dirt. ::But the one thing we should definitely do first before making plans is, once we have found a safe place to gather ourselves, determine to the best of our abilities if there are any traitors to the Forest Kingdom in our midst. If one of us is working against the rest it doesn’t matter how good we are, that is a vulnerability that will almost assuredly sink us. We should have the magical resources to quickly give everyone here a once over before moving on to matters of leadership and strategy so I suggest we do so.::
Forest
He kneels and scoops out a handful of dirt from the forest floor. He watches it as he lets it fall through his fingers. ::I guess what you should all know is that I am a lover, not a fighter, but I can hold my own and I have abilities that should support our group quite well:: The Angel informs his teammates.
Roland spends the week working hard at his new academics, but he always spares a moment here or there to try and get to know his fellow students a little better.
“Absolutely!” Roland says as he waves his hand. The notes on his summoned music sheets rewrite themselves in response. “How about this song?" Roland offers. “Written by a Drow bard I once met to explain his complicated feelings for his matron mother. I still don’t really know what exactly he meant by it, but it rocks pretty hard.”
"You think I'm good, you should hear my brother-in-law. I'm catching up, whether he wants to admit it or not. But he's still a bit better than me. A bit." “Really?” Roland responds, his eyebrows shooting up. “How is that even possible? This really is a school of super beings! I think I’m going to have a good time here.” The Angel informs his new classmates.
"Wow. Roland that was....awesome. It's a different sound than we usually do, but it's still...it's really gripping." Roland stands silently for a moment after he finishes singing, still holding the mic. He turns slowly and hands it to Fieri. His eyes glimmer with what might be unshed tears and for a moment his typically clownish affect is completely absent. He blinks a few times then a wide grin slowly spreads across his face. “Thanks Fieri!” He declares. “From a true artist like you to a hopeful like me, that certainly is high praise!”
Roland laughs and winks. “Hehe, I know, I’m just teasing. And absolutely, I’ll sing you a song.”
“Perform with me guys!” He requests. Picking up the mic a serious, somewhat mournful expression crosses his face. “This is a song I wrote for my first true love.” He informs the band. “A Succubus with a sweet and innocent heart of gold. She was the one who truly showed me that a person is more than the circumstances they are born into. A part of me loves her still, though my mother and her master tore us apart long ago.” Beckoning the band to start playing he begins to sing.
Roland looks down at his fallen ice cream with a look of loss, but then shrugs, there are more treats like that one back at the cafeteria. He raises his eyes to meet Fieri’s and grins. “You guys are awesome, no joke! What are you doing wasting time going to school with talent like that?” He teases, brushing over the centaur's self doubts. “If you guys ever need a backup singer just tell me, I would be honored to join you for a set here and there!”
As Roland passes Fei and Vai he gives them an endearingly friendly smile.
After taking a moment to gobble up the burger and pizza, Roland takes a seat and listens to the bands powerful song. When they finish he looks at them with wide eyes. His ice cream falls out of the cone and splats on the ground. “I…wow.” He says.
“Mmmm.” Roland replies and follows.
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